1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to gloves. More particularly, to an improved glove having a reduced palmar area and a method of making the same. Specifically, the invention relates to gloves which reduce wrinkling or bunching adjacent the user's palm; thereby supplying the user with a more positive and accurate grip.
2. Background Information
It has been found through a detailed investigation of gaming and work gloves that one of the major reasons conventional gloves do not and cannot provide an improved grip is that such gloves closely follow the contour of the normal hand facing surfaces when the hand is fully extended which is contrary to the hand position when a user's hand is grasping an item, such as an axe, racket or club such as a golf club. Both friction-type and non-friction-type gripping strips by themselves or in combination with exterior pads have been utilized on prior art gloves on their exterior facing surfaces to prevent slippage of a gripped item within the user's hand; however, such strips do not improve the actual grip about the item and instead merely provide cushion to the hand to prevent blisters and callouses as well as undue muscle fatigue.
In response, it is a noticeable trend of many user's such as golfers and drivers to wear very tight gloves in an attempt to enhance "feel" by being able to feel the glove on the hand. However, regardless of the tightness of the glove, it is readily apparent that certain voids and other open areas are present between the surface of the hand and the surface of the gripped item when the hand is holding an item, such as a club or steering wheel using any conventional single-layer glove as are well known in the art, one of which is from the front and the back as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such voids and open areas are created as a result of the contrasting soft fleshy portions of the fingers and especially the palm of the individual's hand when the hand grips the contoured surface of the item to be gripped.
Specifically, it has been found that the actual gripping force is deleteriously affected as the closed hand within the glove produces these voids or open areas in the fold or crease areas of the palm which are contrary to obtaining improved gripping with more uniform compression force of the hand on the item. The voids and open areas severely limit the firm contact area between the hand and the item. The palmar area of the glove as shown in FIG. 1 normally wrinkles at the crease areas of the palm just below the finger stalls of the hand thereby decreasing the hand holding power.
During many activities, such as splitting wood or swinging a golf club, it is essential that the user be able to recreate and repetitiously perform the proper gripping action. In response, the improved golf glove with reduced palmar area was developed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,627 issued to Charles Weiser on Sep. 15, 1992. This improved glove takes into account the realization that the palm of the hand in its natural position is slightly concave providing a concavity which deepens as the hand flexes in grasping.
This realization is based upon the concept that when the smaller fingers at one side of the palmar area, on the opposite side of the concavity from the thumb, feel the greatest pressure on an item lying across the palm, the diagonal relationship of the item to the palm allows the minor fingers of the hand starting with the little, ring and middle fingers, in that order, to close around and surround the item. If the hand is deformed from the preferred grip when grasping the item, as occurs when a conventional glove bunches up, position of the item may be substantially altered due to slippage. Additionally, the glove of U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,627 exploits the fact that the distance between finger stalls and the first crease line of the user's palm is identical for all users regardless of the user's size or physical stature. This fact assures that the appropriate amount of material is removed from the palmar area thereby assuring that the palmar area of the glove contains little extra fabric which will bunch or gather when the user's hand is moved to a grasping position.
The improved glove with a reduced surface area in the palmar region as described in the Weiser patent has a contour complemental to the major flexed portion of the palm when closed about an item to be grasped. This eliminates problems of maintaining the proper grip. The invention of the '627 patent solves the problem of proper gripping by reducing the palmar area.
However, although this Weiser glove solves the gripping problem, it has more recently become a manufacturing consideration that only one seam is most desirable for ease and speed of manufacturing rather than the conventional two seams found in all conventional prior art gloves including the Weiser glove. Specifically, some conventional golf gloves include one body seam found along each side of the finished glove where the front and back faces of leather or other material are affixed together to form the finished glove as assembled from the two initially planar pieces of leather or other material. In addition, most if not all conventional golf gloves also include an additional seam to affix the thumb area to the body area, as well as additional seams associated with affixation of each of the fingers. Therefore, conventional golf gloves include a body seam down each side of the glove, and in some cases multiple thumb and fingers seams also, prior to any consideration of the void and open area problems in the palmar area as described above. One such conventional glove without palmar reduction is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with one body seam down each side to the wrist, as well as one thumb seam affixing the thumb to the body. Additionally, the glove described in the '627 patent has been inspected by the U.S.G.A. which has determined that the glove included in the '627 patent does not violate the rules of golf therefor assuring that the glove of the '627 reference is available for use on tour.
The Weiser golf glove accounts for palmar reduction but it includes multiple body seams, specifically one seam across the palmar area where the excess material was removed, and a seam as is found in all conventional gloves down each side of the glove for holding the front and back faces together. However, today's golf gloves are now manufactured from one piece of material rather than two using only one seam on one side of the glove rather than one seam on each side of the glove for ease and speed of manufacturing. For this reason, a different approach to reducing the palmar area is required to eliminate seams on both sides of the glove. Additionally, while the glove of the '627 patent is adequate for the purpose intended in that it reduces the glove material between the finger stalls and the first crease of the user's palm while providing a seam to position between the fleshy portions of the user's palm when the hand is moved to a closed position, it does little to remove the excess material between the user's index finger and thumb.
As such, the need exists for a glove which may be manufactured of a single seam along the side portion thereof, while simultaneously providing a glove which provides a reduced palmar area and which increases the glove tension in the area intermediate the user's index finger and thumb so as to further increase gripping action associated with the user's curled hand.